Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Recognizing that scholarly publishing rests on a foundation of trust, transparency, and integrity, JIBE requires all parties involved in the publication process, authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher to uphold the highest ethical standards.

JIBE fully adheres to the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and all ethical guidelines, responsibilities, and procedures are aligned with COPE’s internationally recognized standards.

1.  Duties of Editors

Fair Play
Editors assess all manuscripts objectively, based solely on academic merit—originality, relevance to the journal’s scope, methodological rigor, and clarity—without discrimination based on the authors’ race, gender, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.

Confidentiality
Editors must maintain strict confidentiality for all submitted manuscripts, sharing information only with the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, and editorial advisers as needed.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Editors must not exploit unpublished content for personal research. If a conflict of interest arises, editors must recuse themselves from decision-making on the affected manuscript.

Publication Decisions
Editors are accountable for deciding which articles are published, guided by peer review outcomes, legal requirements, and the scholarly contribution of the manuscript.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct
Editors will respond to suspected misconduct, including plagiarism, fabrication, and citation manipulation, following COPE guidelines. Investigations will be documented, and appropriate actions taken, including retractions or reporting to institutions.

2.  Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Reviewers assist editors in evaluating manuscripts and provide authors with constructive feedback to improve their work.

Promptness
Reviewers should accept assignments only if they can meet the required deadlines. If unable, they must notify the editor promptly.

Confidentiality
All manuscripts are confidential. Reviewers must not share or discuss submissions with others without explicit permission from the editor.

Objectivity
Reviews must be impartial, focused on scholarly content. Personal attacks or hostile language are unacceptable.

Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers should identify any missing references and notify editors of any substantial similarity with previously published work.

Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts where a conflict exists, including personal, professional, or financial relationships.

Reviewer Misconduct
Unethical reviewer behaviour—such as breaches of confidentiality or misuse of manuscript content—may result in permanent removal from the journal’s reviewer pool and notification of affiliated institutions.

3.  Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards
Authors must provide an accurate account of their research, including sufficient detail for replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior.

Originality and Plagiarism
Submissions must be original. All sources must be cited appropriately. JIBE uses Turnitin to screen for plagiarism. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% (excluding references and standard phrases) may be rejected.

Multiple or Redundant Publication
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously or publish the same findings in more than one primary outlet.

Authorship and Contributor Transparency
Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the research. JIBE encourages the use of the CRediT taxonomy to describe individual roles. All authors must approve the final manuscript. Authorship changes require written consent from all listed authors and editorial approval.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Authors must declare any financial or personal conflicts that could influence the manuscript’s results or interpretation.

Preprints and Prior Dissemination
JIBE accepts submissions that have previously appeared as preprints. Authors must disclose this during submission and cite the preprint version in the final published article.

Fundamental Errors in Published Work
Authors must notify the editor promptly upon discovering a significant error in their published work and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions.

Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide raw data during the editorial process and are encouraged to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication. JIBE encourages data sharing to support research transparency. Authors are encouraged to deposit datasets in recognized repositories (e.g., ResearchGate, Zenodo).

Ethical Approval
Research involving human participants or animals must comply with relevant institutional and national guidelines. Authors must state that appropriate ethical approval was obtained and provide supporting documentation upon request.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Third-Party Services
Authors must disclose the use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) or third-party editorial services in manuscript preparation. These tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying and citing AI-generated content, images, or datasets.

4.  Publisher’s Responsibilities

UiTM Press supports the editorial independence and ethical integrity of JIBE. The publisher ensures:

• Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit;
• COPE guidelines are followed in addressing misconduct;
• Authors and reviewers are treated fairly;
• Post-publication corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern are transparently handled.

5.  Ethical Oversight

JIBE exercises ethical oversight at all stages of the publication process. Any allegations of misconduct—including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or unethical research—are investigated according to COPE procedures. Disciplinary outcomes may include formal retractions, corrections, bans on future submissions, or notifications to authors' institutions.

6.  Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

JIBE encourages open and responsible discourse on published articles. If errors or ethical concerns arise after publication, the journal will issue:

• Corrections for honest errors;
• Retractions for serious violations;
• Expressions of concern where investigations are ongoing.

All changes are clearly labeled and linked to the original article.

7.  Misconduct Procedures, Complaints, and Appeals

JIBE follows COPE’s workflows to handle pre- and post-publication ethical concerns. Actions may include:

• Revisions;
• Clarification letters;
• Retractions or bans.

Complaints and Appeals
Authors who wish to appeal editorial decisions must submit a written explanation to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals will be reviewed by an uninvolved senior editorial board member. All complaints and appeals are handled confidentially and resolved as promptly as possible.

Chief Editor
Journal of International Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship (JIBE)
Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA
42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
✉ jibe.uitm@gmail.com

Conclusion

By submitting to JIBE, authors acknowledge that they have read and agree to abide by this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement. Adherence to these principles safeguards scientific integrity and assures readers, contributors and indexing agencies that JIBE remains a trusted, ethically sound outlet for high‑quality scholarship. This statement is reviewed annually and updated to reflect evolving best practices in scholarly publishing.